Fatalism in Islam

As Muslims, our existence is because of Allah and He has laid out details of not just how we are supposed to lead our lives but also how we are supposed to think ! In otherwords, Islamic philosophy as stipulated by the Quran is the ONLY true philosophy to which believers must adhere.

I had been confused about the concept of fatalism (& its likes) in islam. I understand that as far as philosophy is concerned, fatalism, determinism, pre-determinism, pre-ordainment are all different concepts. But I want to here only think through this topic in a layman’s term. When I say fatalism here im referring to the extent to which events are preordained in life. That God has perfect knowledge is beyond doubt. My friends would know that if they slap me, I will react aggressively. When humans are aware of what will happen in future in certain instances because of their experience, familiarity with environment etc, then how could God who has PERFECT knowledge about EVERYTHING not know the future. So, the fact that God knows each and every aspect of the future is beyond doubt.

However, does God just know what will happen with us or has he determined what will happen to us? If we look at some of the Ayats below, we’ll see that God has clearly said in the Quran that man is responsible for what happens with him in life and that man has to exercise his freedom to choose, on the basis of which he will be judged in the Hereafter (which is essentially the purpose of life) :

“..man shall have nothing but what he strives for” (3:39)

“Allah does not change the condition of a people until they change their own condition” (13:11)

“ And whatever affliction befalls you, it is on account of what your own hands have wrought” (13:30)

“Every man is responsible for what he shall have wrought” (3:21)

“ Surely, we have shown man the way; he may accept it or reject it”  (ixxvi:3)

But then, on the other hand, there are Ayats such as the following; do these indicate that Allah has pre-destined our fate in the Hereafter?

“Do you wish to guide him whom Allah has caused to err? And whomsoever Allah causes to err, you shall by no means find a way for him.” (4:88)

“Allah leads astray whomsoever He will and guides whomsoever he will.” (14:4)   

Also, there are different Ahadith which further seem to me to suggest that God has preordained atleast the major life events & man’s destinies with respect to various aspects of his life:

“The apostle of God said, ‘the first thing that God created was the pen. He said to it write. It asked the Lord what to write. It answered, write the destinies of all things till the advent of the Day of Judgment. The prophet of God said: who dies of a belief differing from this he belongs not to me.”

"The creation of each one of you is gathered together in his mother's belly for forty days in the form of a seed, then he is a clot of blood for a like period. The angel is then sent to him to blow the breath of life into him. He is commanded to write down four matters: his means of livelihood, life-span, actions, and whether happy or unhappy." (Related by Al-Bukhari and Muslim).

Hadhrat Jabbir (radiallahu anhu) narrates that Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said:
“You can never be a Mu’min as long as you do not believe in Taqdeer in its good and its bad to such an extent that whatever is to happen will not be warded off and whatever is not to happen will not occur.(Tirmizi)  

Hadhrat Abu Darda (radiallahu anhu) narrates that Allah Ta’ala has already predestined five things for all people, viz., age, sustenance (rizq), deeds, place of burial and final salvation or condemnation. (Ahmad, Bazzaaz, Kabeer, Ausat)

Hadhrat Abu Hurairah (radiallahu anhu) narrates that Rasulullah (sallallhu alayhi wasallam) said: “Strive to acquire what is beneficial for you; seek the aid of Allah; do not lose courage and if a setback overtakes you, do not say: ‘If I had done this then it would have happened like this (i.e. not what had happened).’ Instead, say: ‘Allah has ordained this. Whatever he has willed, has happened. (Muslim)

This leaves me confused.

If, as the above Ahadith say, Allah has already preordained death, then I WILL die when Allah has preordained, so I guess I shouldn’t fear death. Is it also determined as to how I’ll die as suggested by the below Ayat?

"....Say, Had you remained in your houses, those for whom slaughter was ordained would certainly have gone forth to the places where they would be slain...." (Aale-Imran 3:154)

 If yes, then that would mean, that I WILL be in a situation where I will die, meaning that the events leading to this situation will also be determined from before? How long back can we go like this?

Likewise, If Allah has preordained means of livelihood, then I will keep getting my livelihood regardless of whether I work hard or not. If Allah has preordained a certain calamity in my life, then it WILL happen, meaning that I shouldn’t bother trying to avoid unfavorable events of life.

Is the nature vs nurture debate of psychology & medicine also something that isrelated to this. Genetic illnesses are something that are out of human control. If I get into one of these illnesses, is that “God’s Will”? Are road accidents the resuilt of human decision making or are they “God’s Will”?

I guess AGE will answer these questions conclusively; but i think theres an element of both : God pre-ordaining aspects of life, as well as, man controlling his own destiny.